America's Best Hot Dogs

John Giuffo
, ContributorI travel, I look for good food when I do, and I write about both.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Waldo's in San Diego makes delectable dogs. For more of our top 10, click on the pic.

Is there any food that’s more American, or more associated with summer than the hot dog? With our annual high-summer grilling holiday coming up, we set out to find some of the best.

This isn’t a definitive list--many hot dog lovers have their personal favorites, and any attempt to narrow it down to 10 best would make many people upset. Instead, we’ve tried to find a wide variety of classic and inventive dogs that both represent the best of the form and push the frank to new creative heights.

For the traditionalist, it’s hard to get better than Nathan’s Famous franks, best purchased a block from the beach at the venerable Coney Island stand. It’s also the location of the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, where competitive eaters from around the world come to do battle in the grand prix of stomach expansion. Nathan’s offers traditional toppings--sauerkraut, onions, etc.--on an all-beef frank, but they're all you need for one of the country’s iconic dogs.

For those who enjoy their hot dogs with a bit more of a haute cuisine flair, there are the franks at Bark Hot Dogs in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The condiments on offer are pretty standard--pickled onions, sauerkraut--but it’s the way the dogs are prepared that sets them apart. Cut from choice portions of pork and beef shoulder, the franks are grilled then finished off with Bark Butter, a house mixture of smoked lard, butter and sea salt that gives Bark dogs an unmistakable flavor. The owners also place an emphasis on locally sourced, sustainable ingredients, such as their house kraut, which comes from Hawthorne Valley Farm in upstate New York.

Everyone has their favorite hot dog vendor, especially people who sell them for a living. “Frankie’s in Connecticut is really good,” says Joshua Sharkey, one of the owners of Bark. “We got a lot of our inspiration from Frankie’s--they have a pepper relish as well, and they serve a lot of similar New England-style toppings.”

Frankie's has been serving up franks since the Great Depression, when original owner Frank Caiazzo decided to open up a hot dog stand in Waterbury, Conn., to satisfy hungry bellies and light wallets. Order a simple Famous Frankie, or get a bit international with their Irish hot dog, served with bacon.

And if it's elaborate toppings you’re after, you’d be hard pressed to find a more elaborate dog than the Sonoran-style hot dog, found in restaurants and stands all over Arizona and south of the border. Grilled up and wrapped in bacon, the Sonoran dog typically comes complete with an array of toppings that can include tomatoes, onions, shredded cheese, tomatillo salsa or chili sauce, mayo, pinto beans, and mustard or ketchup, served on a big bun or bread that can handle the load.